Page 79 of Dragon Tempted

The song finished and the girls clapped their hands.

Eric bowed with Bella in his arms and she giggled. “I will be taking Miss Bella up for her bath and bedtime.”

“And I’ll help Lily get ready for bed,” Adam said. “Time for good-night kisses.”

Tessa and Megan kissed their daughters, and then the girls rushed to Sienna, who knelt down and grabbed them both into her arms, kissing them all over their faces to a round of giggles.

“Okay you two, let’s get going,” Eric said before smirking. “Thanks for riling them up before bed, Sienna.”

Sienna winked at him. “That’s what aunts are for.”

They headed upstairs and Tessa rubbed her hands together. “It’s wine time. How about we sit on the back deck and watch the sunset.”

They walked down the hall, raided the wine fridge, and grabbed glasses before heading outside. Once settled on the lounge chairs, Sienna looked up at the sky painted in streaks of yellow and orange.

“It’s good to see you smile, Sienna,” Megan said as she poured wine into Sienna’s glass. “I know earlier today was scary, and you seemed pretty serious during dinner.”

Sienna took a sip of the fruity wine. “I have a lot on my mind.”

“And by a lot, do you mean our resident hermit?” Tessa smiled. “Although I don’t think that name fits any longer. He’s been spending a lot of time with you.”

Sienna stared up at the sky for a moment instead of reacting to Tessa’s comments. “John had someone steal the Death of Magic painting for him.”

When she didn’t get an immediate response, she turned to look at her sisters-in-law. “No comment?”

Tessa shrugged. “I’m not surprised. It’s not like those nasty witches were going to let him have it, right?” She held up her hand before Sienna could respond. “And yes, I know that I’m a witch, but not in the nasty bracket, okay?”

Sienna held up her glass and clinked it with Tessa. “Got it. What do you think, Megan?”

“As an art historian, the idea of art being stolen more than bothers me. And trust me when I say, it happens a lot. Governments—conquerors—have taken what doesn’t belong to them for as long as art has existed. And it’s awful. But if John hadn’t stolen the painting, he would have never asked me to show it at the museum. Which means I would never have met Eric or had Bella. You do remember that Eric and I stole the scroll from the frame at the museum, right? This isn’t a matter of greed but of trying to fix things.”

Sienna nodded.

“Then what is really bothering you?” Megan asked.

“I’m concerned about what else he might be willing to do to stop the curse. He has one goal above all others.”

Tessa sat forward. “You’re not afraid of him, are you?”

“I’m not scared of him,” Sienna answered immediately. He was all wounded bark with no bite. “I guess…I’m scared for him.”

Megan frowned. “I understand. John was an innocent boy who carries the weight of what his witch and dragon clans did to each other. And what it continues to do to magic. Chipping away at it. And he’s been trying to make things right again on his own.”

“Exactly,” Sienna said around the lump in her throat.

“But here’s the thing,” Tessa said. “He’s not alone anymore. He has all of us. And I believe that fate or whatever you want to call it brought him to us. Like Megan said. No painting would mean there would be no Bella, and I wouldn’t have met Adam or found Lily to protect her. And along the way we find out I’m a long-lost witch who can read the scroll? All of this is playing out like it’s supposed to.”

Sienna set her glass down. “And we can’t forget the storybooks. I just wish they were clearer on what’s supposed to happen.”

Megan shook her head. “If they had been straightforward, it wouldn’t have been a secret for long.”

“We’ve had a lot of things land in our laps in a very short time. I think we need to keep the momentum going,” Sienna said.

“What do you have in mind?” Tessa asked.

Sienna picked up her glass and tried to channel some of Tessa’s confidence. “Time to contact Mia again and schedule a meeting where we can actually get to the bottom of some things. I’ll show her the second storybook. That’s all she knows that I’ve found. I don’t need to tell her about the third book or the other items we recovered from the vault. If she doesn’t start being open with us, I won’t be sharing much of anything with her.”

Megan gave her a long look. “Do you trust her?”